Sloof Invite You Into Their World On The Wonderfully Weird Shane EP

Hailing from Bloomfield, CT, Sloof is the indie rock project of brothers Dan and Tommy Carr, who together make strange and stoned outsider jams. Their debut EP, Shane, is a weird but welcoming release, filled with affable hooks that invite you to join its perpetual afterparty.

Opener “Goose” sets the tone of the record both sonically and lyrically, hanging its freak flag high alongside a laidback verse and mid-tempo guitar jangle. A vocal hook makes the overall goofiness (goose-ness?) of the chorus more relatable, even for normies who might not understand what basement show they stumbled upon: “Everyone is tryin hard / to stay true to who they are. / But they just end up playin the part. / A telecaster-mold-of-art.”

While no one would doubt that a hazy and heady air hangs around its 60s style guitar reverb, it’s surprising how physically active the music sounds. “Catz” and “1+love” are generous with gang vocals and danceable rhythms that show off the Carr brothers’ ability to share hooks on their own terms. Surprisingly enough, the unlikely instrumental “Ode to Roch” adds a strange trip of textural instrumentation –a reminder that there’s some real musical wizardry behind all of the goosin.

Of course, after a jam like that, Sloof return to a couch heavy air on EP closer (and also totally workable opener on its Spotify version) “I Really Don’t Mind”, ending the short set off with the same cool and confident acceptance that it starts with.